Somaliland is classified into three main climatic zones across the regions. These include; (a) desert zone mainly along the coastal belt, (b) very arid zone in the central and western areas and (c) semi-arid zone in the lower parts of Awdal and present-day Maroodijeex. The latter areas receive the best rainfall up to 500 to 600 mm per year, Togdheer, Sool and Sanaag regions come next with rainfall values of 100 to 400 mm per year. The coastal belt and a small pocket of the area south of Sool region are characterized by very low rainfall with values less than 100 mm per year.